The Takeaway: Would Hamas complicate US plans for reset with Palestinians? Also: the back story on the spat between Israel and Jordan; Gulf post-COVID economic trends; Turkey’s Kurds; Egypt and Somalia; and more! Originals
Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Palestinians receive first batch of vaccines through COVAX More than 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestine
Palestinians get glimpse of world’s largest mosaic in Jericho A Japanese-funded project to protect and exhibit the largest mosaic floor in the Middle East, an ancient creation dating back to the Umayyad period, promises to protect this treasure of Palestinian heritage and attract thousands more visitors to Jericho. Palestine
What's behind Hamas’ latest Cabinet reshuffle in Gaza? Hamas carried out a ministerial reshuffle in the Gaza Strip, claiming to pump new blood into the ministries as the consensus government has failed to meet its responsibilities toward Gaza. Palestine
Aleppo braces for harsh winter Residents of besieged eastern Aleppo fear they might not survive the winter as their already meager and expensive fuel sources are running out. Syria
How Abbas can counter Netanyahu’s maneuver Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses time and again the demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people to sideline the issues of occupation and settlements. Palestine
Fury erupts after mayors detained in Turkey's Kurdish southeast The Turkish authorities have arrested both co-mayors of Diyarbakir, Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli, sparking massive protests that the press is having trouble covering after internet access was cut across the city. Turkey
Did Rouhani stop screening of hard-line film about jailed Iranian-American? In Iran, the cancellation of the screening of a self-styled documentary about a jailed dual national leads hard-liners to point the finger at the Rouhani administration. Iran
The Israeli defense minister’s surprising offer Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman granted the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds an interview in an attempt to reach out to the Palestinian public while bypassing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestine
The many dimensions of Mosul, and what comes next There's much more at play in Mosul than a campaign for its immediate liberation from the Islamic State. Iraq
The brewing battle over coffee in Turkey Amid an increase in coffee consumption in Turkey, leading international coffee chains have stormed into the local market, luring the young clientele. Turkey
Is Israel banning entry of Gaza cancer patients? Israeli physicians say that many cancer patients from the Gaza Strip are banned from entering Israel, and so they are hospitalized in Gaza where there is no adequate medical treatment. Palestine
Why Netanyahu and Erdogan prefer ‘cold normalization’ Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are particularly enthusiastic about implementing the reconciliation agreement between the two countries. Israel
The real reason Tunisia renewed its state of emergency The state of emergency in Tunisia was renewed nationwide despite the fact that the security situation has improved, which has raised questions on the reasons behind it. Tunisia
